When the first China Gold Pandas were minted in 1982, they took the world by storm. The combination of high gold purity and substantial gold weight attracted gold coin buyers right away. And every year the design of the Panda coins changed, but always featuring the world's best-loved bears, which increased demand year by year.

Now for 2016, the China Mint has taken another bold step into the future with the release of the first-ever metric Pandas. The old system of Troy ounces has been replaced by the metric system of grams, the standard system of weights used in China. This is a great collecting opportunity for Panda lovers, because the change in weight makes the coins even more attractive to buyers in China.

In addition, the 2016 metric Pandas are all first-ever coins in the Panda series. Collectors love first-ever coins and current Panda owners will look to acquire these benchmark coins. The design features a panda clinging to a tree branch, with the Temple of Heaven in Beijing's Forbidden City and the date on the obverse.

Because of our strong relationship with the China Mint, we've secured these special Pandas for our customers. Each is graded by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) and is housed in a secure holder with a proprietary label featuring a panda climbing a tree in its bamboo forest home. The mintage for this 15 gram 2016 Gold Panda is only 600,000 coins, which is an incredibly small number to start with, but also the same mintage as last year's Panda - even though demand for this first-ever coin could be higher! Each is struck in 99.9% pure gold.